With wives as numerous as clouds and soldiers as numerous as a million, you say he's a useless

Thinking of all this, Ye Cheng'an felt no weariness at all. He quickly dressed, washed up briefly, and then ordered Zhu Yu to drive the carriage, taking Li Tieshan and a team of Tiger Roar Camp soldiers, along with the chief officials of the Nine Cities, to the surrounding Nine Cities.

Today, he is going to do something big: win over the hearts of the people and recruit troops from the nine cities to serve him!

Originally, he wanted to wait until the Northern Royal Court issued its decree to deal with the Nine City Lords before killing them to win over the people. However, with powerful enemies outside and various forces eyeing him from within, he had to make plans early so as not to be crushed into mincemeat when a great war was about to break out!

The first city Ye Cheng'an reached was naturally Tongchuan City, which was led by Xie Yuandao.

The army's grand entrance into the city already attracted many onlookers. When the city's lord was seen wearing prison clothes and being pressed down among a line of prisoners, the people of Tongchuan City naturally began to discuss the matter.

"What's going on? Why is Lord Xie being arrested?"

"You don't know, do you? Not only Lord Xie, but the chief officials of the nine cities surrounding Panlong City have all been arrested. I heard that they not only failed to control the locusts, almost causing a massive locust plague that nearly led to a complete crop failure and widespread famine in Liuzhou, but they also organized troops to besiege Yong'an City, intending to assassinate the crown prince..."

The eldest prince and the three imperial censors from the royal court have already reported their crimes to the royal court. Now they are just waiting for the royal court's decree to decide their fate!

After those in the know recounted the whole story, cheers immediately erupted from the crowd.

"Good! The eldest young master and the three imperial censors from the royal court are truly insightful! Xie Yuandao, as the chief official of Tongchuan, never upholds justice for the people and often helps the rich to oppress them! Last time, when my sister was harassed by that young master of the Wang family, I went to complain, and he actually accepted bribes, saying that my sister deliberately seduced him..."

"You have no idea, my sister is only sixteen years old. She had already suffered so much injustice, and then she was falsely accused. She went insane on the spot..." A man in his early twenties choked back tears as he cheered, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Xie Yuandao, who was being escorted by soldiers. "This kind of corrupt official should have died long ago!"

One person took the lead, and the others joined in recounting Xie Yuandao's evil deeds. "What is this? My daughter was betrothed since childhood, but one day she met Xie Yuandao on the street, and he took a liking to her and forcibly took her as a concubine. I thought that would be my fate, but I never expected that this beast Xie Yuandao would throw my daughter off the carriage during a barbarian uprising and let those barbarian soldiers rape her until she died..."

"Thank God, he finally got his comeuppance!"

"..."

The crowd continued to hurl insults at Xie Yuandao. Some people, in their anger, even picked up stones from the ground, eggs from their arms, and rotten vegetable leaves from the street and threw them at Xie Yuandao.

The chief official of the Nine Cities was closest to him and was unfortunately implicated, complaining bitterly.

"Lord Xie, I never imagined that you, who appear to be a virtuous gentleman, would commit so many evil deeds behind the scenes!" Nie Chongshan gritted his teeth. "You've caused us so much suffering!"

Xie Yuandao pursed his lips and remained silent; he had never imagined such a day would come.

As for Gu Mingxuan, who was slightly more astute, he had already guessed Ye Cheng'an's intentions. "My lords, there's no need to argue. The eldest young master is parading through the streets with his army, forcing us to be his parade. What do you think he wants to do?"

"None of us can escape this fate."

"You mean..." Nie Chongshan was startled upon hearing this.

Gu Mingxuan nodded solemnly, "The eldest young master is probably going to use public opinion to kill us and become the righteous and just official! In this way, the people's hearts will naturally be won over."

"Furthermore, with the Nine City Commander being dismissed, he can naturally take over the Nine City troops."

"So, you mean we're all going to die before the royal court has even given its orders?!" Nie Chongshan's eyes widened, filled with resentment and indignation.

However, no matter how resentful or unwilling one may be, it cannot change the inevitable trend.

Ye Cheng'an, accompanied by the people, had already escorted Xie Yuandao and Xie Yunzheng, uncle and nephew, to the execution platform in Tongchuan City, and made a gesture to the noisy crowd to quiet down.

In an instant, all the people fell silent.

Standing on the execution platform, Ye Cheng'an said in a stern voice, "Gentlemen, recently, the Nine Cities Commander failed in his efforts to control the locusts, almost allowing the locust plague to ravage the entire Liuzhou. His crimes are heinous! Later, he led the Nine Cities' troops to besiege Yong'an City, intending to assassinate the Crown Prince and steal the credit for eradicating the locusts. Such a treacherous minister deserves to die ten thousand times!"

"I, along with three imperial censors from the royal court, have already reported to the royal court to deal with the nine individuals. However, the royal court is rife with powerful and entrenched factions, and it is uncertain whether these nine individuals will receive the punishment they deserve..."

"Therefore, I have brought Xie Yuandao and his nephew here today. If they have committed any acts of aiding and abetting evil, violence, or bullying others while in charge of Tongchuan City, you may all report them here and write a petition to the people. As long as the charges reach a certain level, I will execute them immediately without the royal decree and then report to the royal court!"

Ye Cheng'an's magnificent and resounding voice echoed throughout the execution ground.

As soon as he spoke, the onlookers were moved to tears. "My God, I really can't believe it. We've been oppressed by Xie Yuandao and his nephew for so many years, exploited like animals, and now we can finally get our revenge..."

"What are you all standing there for? Quickly report them! Settle your scores and grievances! Today, Xie Yuandao and his nephew must die!"

"Young Master, I want to accuse Xie Yuandao of being an unjust official, accepting bribes, distorting the truth, and causing wrongful convictions..."

"Young Master, I want to report Xie Yuandao for abusing his power, seizing people's land and houses, forcibly marrying women, and disregarding human life..."

"..."

In an instant, accusations against Xie Yuandao and his nephew flooded the internet.

Ye Cheng'an had Zhu Yu lay out the prepared writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone in front of the execution ground, write things down one by one, and have the people sign and affix their fingerprints.

The evil deeds of Xie Yuandao and his nephew were too numerous to recount, and were recorded for a full five hours, until it was dark, and people were still making accusations.

This made Ye Cheng'an's face grow even colder. A mere county magistrate had committed so many murders for money, his hands stained with so much blood. Xie Yuandao truly deserved to die!

If Su Wanrou and her son are all under such treacherous officials, the Northern Territory will be destroyed by them in no time!

After an unknown amount of time, Xie Yuandao's crimes were finally all recorded. Ye Cheng'an addressed the crowd below, saying, "Xie Yuandao's crimes are heinous and he deserves to die ten thousand times over. Today, I, Ye Cheng'an, represent all the people of Tongchuan City, all those he has persecuted, and I, Ye Cheng'an, stand as justice to deliver the final judgment on him..."

"Execute him immediately!"

After saying that, Ye Chengan drew a large knife from Li Tieshan's waist and slashed at Xie Yuandao's neck without hesitation.

puff.

A flash of cold light, and Xie Yuandao's blood splattered on the spot, his head rolling off.

However, none of the onlookers showed any fear; instead, they clapped and cheered.

"Good! That corrupt official is finally dead! Young Master, you are truly mighty!"

"The eldest son is mighty!"

Immediately afterwards, Ye Cheng'an raised his knife again, stopping just above Xie Yunzheng's neck.

Xie Yunzheng was so scared that he wet himself. He had always thought that even if Ye Chengan locked him up in jail, someone would rescue him and his nephew. But he never expected that when he had another chance to get out of jail, he would see such a scene.

"Waaah... Don't kill me, don't kill me! I know I was wrong. If you spare me, I'll be your dog from now on..."

"If the eldest young master wants me to go east, I will never go west!"

"And also, the army of Tongchuan City. If you spare me, Young Master, I will immediately have them pledge their allegiance to you..."

Ye Cheng'an was waiting for this sentence, but he would not accept Xie Yunzheng's surrender. He just wanted the uncle and nephew to draw out the army of Tongchuan City before they died.

Only in this way can the army of Tongchuan City feel threatened and submit to him.

Sure enough, as soon as Xie Yunzheng spoke, Ye Cheng'an keenly observed that the soldiers of Tongchuan City not far away all looked grim.

Very well, at least this guy provided some value before he died.

"Be my dog? Sorry, I don't need vicious dogs under my command!" Ye Cheng'an said, already swinging his broadsword down.

Xie Yuandao and his nephew died just like that.

The remaining nine city officials broke out in a cold sweat, knowing that the fate of the Xie family uncle and nephew today would be their fate tomorrow.

Ye Cheng'an then took out a handkerchief to wipe his fingers clean and instructed Zhu Yu, "Let's go to the official residence in Tongchuan City. I want to see if the county magistrate and county lieutenant of Tongchuan City are also corrupt officials like Xie Yuandao and his nephew!"

"This mission is to uphold justice for the people; we would rather kill a hundred innocent people than let one guilty person go free!!!"

Upon hearing that Ye Cheng'an was even going to investigate whether other officials in Tongchuan City were as corrupt as Xie Yuandao and his nephew, the people followed suit.

In the past, they were powerless to resist the oppression of these corrupt officials. Now that a just and upright official is willing to uphold justice for the people, they naturally want to take the opportunity to remove all the corrupt officials from their posts!

Meanwhile, seeing Ye Cheng'an's ruthless methods, morale among the army in Tongchuan City plummeted.

"Boss, the eldest young master has come with murderous intent. Lord Xie and Commander Xie have both been brought to justice. Will we also suffer retaliation for our siege of Yong'an City in the past...?"

"Yes, boss. Especially since Commander Xie mentioned us before he died, I'm afraid the young master is even less likely to let us go. What should we do?"

The man referred to as the leader also looked extremely grim, but after a moment, he composed himself. "Don't be afraid. There are so many of us. If the young master kills us all, who will protect Tongchuan City?"

"Furthermore, we have no personal grudge against the eldest young master. Our actions were all at the behest of the Xie family uncle and nephew. Later, we will go together to apologize to the eldest young master and try to get leniency..."